Using Lead Practitioners to Lead Learning

Sarah Heuston – Vice Principal, Chobham Academy

Tom Howells – Vice Principal, Harris Academy Tottenham

@Chobhamacademy @HarrisTottenham

Creating a Vision for Teaching & Learning

September 2013

A blank slate and an opportunity to design a framework for T&L that

met the academy’s expectations for its students

September 2015Another opportunity to refine and adapt a policy, to the needs of our

Academy, our students. A chance to collaborate and share best practice to widen our impact

Questions to ask ourselves as leaders of Teaching & Learning

What types of learning do we want to expose our students to, and ultimately, what kind of people do we want them to be? How do we design a framework for teaching and learning that supports this?

How can we maximise teacher performance so that our students have the exceptional learning experiences they deserve? How do we develop leadership capacity?

How do we create and sustain the motivation of the teachers to perform to their potential?

How do we meet the needs of individuals at the same time as meeting the needs of the academy as a whole?

How do we measure the impact?

What types of learning do we want to expose our students to,

and ultimately, what kind of people do we want them to be?

How do we design a framework for teaching and learning that

supports this?

Establishing a Shared Vision and Responsibility

Term 2:

Research Focussed

Leading others towards shared goals

Rigour

Ownership

Presence and Engagement

Term 1:

Articulating the vision

Mapping out fundamentals of teaching

and learning in our Academies

Sharing good practice –who is taking ownership of the programme, in

their own context. How can we broaden this?

Selecting our Team

Observations and Learning Walks – consistently good practitioners.

Participation in CPD activities

Interview and Application process

Launch to the staff; seen as a promotion – a desirable role within the Academy.

Incentivised through timetable allocation –not pay.

Commitment

Elements of the role

Developing improving teachers

Leadership of CPD

Coaching and support.

Whole school responsibility (EAL, Numeracy, SEN, etc.)

Regular meeting / training around elements of the SSAT framework.

TASK:

Where do you need to build capacity within your teaching and learning teams?

What could the LP role look like in your Academies?

How do you ensure that it is perceived as a prestigious post?

Teacher Performance & Marginal Gains

The ‘aggregation of marginal gains’ refers to a 1% margin

for improvement in everything you do

Marginal gains is the philosophy that underpinned the extraordinary success of Team GB Cycling at the Beijing and London Olympics. The philosophy is simple: focus on doing a few small things really well.Once you do this, aggregating the gains you make will become part of a bigger impact.

Excellent Teaching Programme

Teachers graded as consistently good undergo a programme of intensive observation and feedback from a group of peers to analyse aspects of an ‘excellent’ lesson

This is coupled with their development as coaches and coaching feedback triads, thus developing their ability to lead teaching and learning in their own areas and build leadership capacity at the academy.

In 2013/14, three of its alumni were appointed to Assistant Principal, demonstrating its efficacy in supporting succession planning at the academy. Of the 17 participants since September 2013, 88% have delivered ‘Excellent’ lessons. There are currently a further nine participants on the most recent cohort .

Performance = potential – interference

G 2 O

Consistently Good: The 9X4 Framework for exceptional Teaching

A programme to ensure ‘Consistently Good’ teaching

Based on the 9X4 Framework for Exceptional Teaching by the Cassidy Brothers

An 8-10 week programme of CPD and coaching based, evaluative feedback on the focus area for the week based on the framework

Since September 2013, 10 teachers have undergone the programme and 100% now deliver consistently good lessons; 30% have delivered outstanding lessons

We currently have ten more teachers undertaking the programme

Sharing Good Practice: Friday briefings and Teach Meets

Sharing Good Practice

EYFS – KS5

How do subjects excel in the academy priorities (literacy, challenge, inclusion) and how do students progress from EYFS – KS5.

Networking

Which CPD programmes are

colleagues currently operating in their

settings?

What are the strengths of your

team of LP’s?

How might you utilise the new ideas you’ve received, alongside

the strengths of your colleagues going

forward?

Any potential issues you may face? Do your

colleagues have a response?

Utilising the Accreditation

The framework provides a solid basis for developing self reflection, and providing tailored CPD to individuals.

A chance to align Academy priorities with opportunities

To gain evidence in support with the accreditation.

Personalised projects for each individual, with clear goals and

Outcomes, that become tangible evidence for achieving the

accreditation, and have a positive impact on the Academy as a whole

Strands for Emerging LP’s:

Challenging, Developing and Innovating.

Negotiating and Influencing

Undertaking research to improve specialist

knowledge

Coaching to lead

Negotiating to Lead

Networking to Lead

Emerging Leaders

In our Academy, the accreditation forms a strong base for leadership progression.

Experience of developing and shaping whole Academy policy – with implementation and review processes.

Shapes leaders of teaching and learning – coaching model means leaders are effective communicators.

Outcomes / SuccessSo far, across our Academies:

12 participants on the programme (Variety of Positions and Roles within the Academy).

(7 are new LP’s as of Sept 2015)

All participants are ‘Outstanding practitioners’

Contributed through CPD to ensure that 88% of teachers were consistently Good or Outstanding by SUM-02.

3 Participants have received promotion as a result of their work in the role.

Chobham Academy – ‘Outstanding’ in every Category, OFSTED 2015.

Extending the role

We want out LP’s to have as much evidence for the transforming and leading strand of the criteria – in each category.

Our unique context; All through Academies.

LP’s within a Federation or Alliance of schools.

LP’s within a National agenda – seeking opportunity.

Reflections:

How could you extend the reach of

your LP’s?

What are the benefits for your Academy in doing

this?

Our next steps Developing the learning process, in line with the new

curriculum. (Mastery)

The role of LP’s is extending across the Academies (Senior LP position, whose role is to coordinate those who are new to the role).

Extending the input of our LP’s within the Federation and beyond.

Using Lead Practitioners to drive institutional change

Using Lead Practitioners to drive institutional change

Moving beyond outstanding

Curriculum change – challenge of linear exams

Need for deep, memorable learning

“What got you here won’t get you there” Jim Collins

Fundamental need for a change in the way students learn

Teachers reinforce an expectation that all pupils are capable of achieving high standards

The large majority of pupils progress through the curriculum content at the same pace. Differentiation is achieved by emphasising deep knowledge and through individual support and intervention.

Teaching is underpinned by methodical curriculum design and supported by carefully crafted lessons and resources to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge.

Practice and consolidation play a central role. Carefully designed variationwithin this builds fluency and understanding of underlying concepts in tandem.

Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual and procedural knowledge and assess pupils regularly to identify those requiring intervention so that all pupils keep up.

'Fewer things in greater depth‘ Tim Oates

Mastery Learning

In England…

• All/most pupils can and will achieve• Keeping the class working together so

that all can master mathematics• Development of deep mathematical

knowledge• Development of both factual/procedural

and conceptual fluency• Longer time on key topics

Mastery teaching is not just for maths!

• All/most pupils can and will achieve• Keeping the class working together

so that all can master mathematics• Development of deep mathematical

knowledge• Development of both factual/

procedural and conceptual fluency• Longer time on key topics

A Mantra for Mastery Learning

The answer is only the beginning…….

What happens after we have the answer to deepen learning and ensure it is encoded in long term memory?

Teaching

Partner 1

Partner 2

Both partners

Tell Yourself

True or false?

Amaze me!

Pace of content vs deep, conceptual learning

Challenges of Mastery in the secondary curriculum

The buy in…..Working memory and learning If we overload the working memory with

items that are not relevant to the concept being learnt, we are likely to see less learning.

For teachers, a key learning point from these models is that if nothing has changed in long-term memory, then nothing has been learned and nothing can be recalled or applied.

Our teaching should therefore minimisethe chances of overloading students’ working memories and maximise the retention in their long-term memories.

Willingham maintains that this requires deliberate, repeated practice.

Willingham identifies that the crucial cognitive structures of the mind are working memory (a system which can become a bottleneck as it is largely fixed, limited and easily overloaded) and long-term memory (a system which is like an almost limitless storehouse).

Teaching and learning – raising attainment

Feedback Extending school time Individualised instruction Performance related pay Mastery learning Homework (secondary) Collaborative learning Setting or streaming Early years interventions Mentoring Peer tutoring

Teaching and learning methods – raising attainment

Feedback

Mastery learning Homework (secondary) Collaborative learning

Early years interventions

Peer tutoring

WHAT DOES MASTERY LOOK LIKE?

A pupil really understands a concept, idea or technique if he or she can:

describe it in his or her own words;

represent it in a variety of ways –where appropriate (e.g. in maths, using concrete materials, pictures and symbols)

explain it to someone else;

make up his or her own examples (and non-examples) of it;

see connections between it and other facts or ideas;

recognise it in new situations and contexts;

make use of it in various ways, including in new situations.

Embedding Mastery learning across the secondary curriculum

Term Focus

Autumn 1 Peer Talk to deepen conceptual understanding

Autumn 2 Questioning to deepen conceptualunderstanding

Spring 1 Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge

Spring 2 Error seeking, misconceptions and fruitful learning

Summer 1 Seeking connections deepen conceptualunderstanding

Summer 2 Synthesising knowledge and applying it to new contexts

Embedding Mastery learning across the secondary curriculum

Professional Learning Accountability

CPD Observation Focus

Coaching partnerships Learning Walks

Subject Masterclasses Curriculum redesign

Curriculum development workshops

Friday briefing – sharing good practice

Mastery in primary Science

Mastery in secondary Science

Mastery in Primary Literacy

Mastery in secondary English

Mastery in secondary Literature

Mastery in secondary Literature

Reflection Task:

• How are your schools / academies preparing for challenges ahead?

• What changes to teaching and learning / curriculum delivery will you have to lead?

• How will you do this? Who is involved? Consider the influential people you will use.

• What obstacles might you face when leading change? How will you plan to overcome them?